ARCC Sermons

DNA Questions: Luke 9:23-27 Discover: Who is Jesus talking to in this text? Why does He feel the need to address this? What is the Kingdom that "some" will see? Nurture: What do you think Jesus would ask you to deny? What sacrifices would Jesus ask you to make? What direction would Jesus take you? Act: How would your week look different if you lived unashamed of Jesus and His words? What direction...

DNA Questions - Matthew 4:18 - 5:12 Discover: What is the significance of the fact that Jesus would call guys who were fishermen? What is the correlation between "the gospel of the kingdom" and Jesus healing every disease? Who is Jesus calling "blessed" in the famous Beatitudes? Nurture Are you following Jesus? How would you know? How have you experienced the "good news of the kingdom" in your lif...

DNA Questions - (Genesis 35:1-15) Discover: What is the actual "blessing" that God gives to Jacob? How did his people fall into so much idolatry while in Shechem? What is the significance of God's call for them to "be fruitful and multiply"? Nurture: What are the "foreign gods" in our culture that seem to lure you the most? How would you know? Is there a "loss" in your life that you need to acknow...

DNA Questions (Genesis 34) Discover: What does this story teach us about the nature of sin? What would it look like for Jacob to step in and speak a better word? In what ways does Christianity impact culture and in what was has culture impacted Christianity? Nurture: How has anger impacted your life? How does the gospel/scripture help us to understand its rightful place in our lives? In what ways...

DNA Questions: Genesis 33 Discover: -What stands out to you the most in this part of the story? Why? -What does this section teach us about the way God works? -What does Jacob mean when he tells Esau that seeing his face was like seeing the face of God? Nurture: -How does this story of reconciliation resonate with you? Are there relationships in your life that you desire healing? How does this sto...

DNA Questions (Genesis 32:22-32) Discover: -What is the significance of Jacob being "left alone"? -What is the significance of the wrestling taking place "until the breaking of the day"? -Why did Jacob need a name change and why would that have been such a blessing? Nurture: -Do you have any regular times of solitude where you are seeking the face of God? Why or why not? -In some sense we are all...

DNA Questions (Genesis 32:9-21) Discover: -What does it mean for Jacob that He identifies with God as the God "of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac"? -Why is it important that Jacob quotes God in his prayer to God? -What other factors of Jacob's prayer point to Jacob being honest with himself and God? -Considering verses 13-21: Is Jacob making plans in light of his prayer or despite his...

DNA Questions (Genesis 32:1-8) Discover: -What was God's purpose for allowing Jacob to see the angels on his way back home? -Would it have been possible for the messengers sent by Jacob to have alleviated his fear and distress? What "messengers" in your life increase fear and distress rather than help point to the Father? What kind of "messenger" are you? -Does Jacob have any reason to believe tha...

DNA Questions (1 Timothy 3:12-13) Discover: What does it truly mean to be the husband of one wife? What does it look like to manage one's household well? What does it look like to have a "deacon" culture in the church? Nurture: Given Jesus' words in Matthew 5:27-30 what would it look like to fight the good fight of being a committed husband to your wife? Consider Jesus' parable in Luke 15:11-32. W...

DNA Questions: 1 Timothy 3:10-11 Discover: What does it mean to "slander"? What does it mean to be "sober-minded"? What does it mean to be "faithful in all things"? Nurture: Why is it so tempting to slander someone? Why is it difficult to put a stop to it when it's going on around you? What gospel promise can we hold to in order to fight this temptation for slander? (Help each other find scripture...

Discover: (1 Timothy 1:12-20; 3:8-9) How does Paul, in his letter to Timothy help us to understand what it looks like / sounds like to be "dignified"? Which prohibition do you struggle with most from verse 8 of chapter 3? Being double tongued? Addiction? Greed for gain? Nurture: Why do you run to those things to cover your indignity? What is happening in your life that sets you down that path? Wha...

Discussion Questions: Why is it so hard to consider others as more significant than ourselves? Sermon Outline - Deacons What does it look like to "outdo one another in showing honor"? What would it look like for you to "steward" the grace of God in your life for the good of the body of Christ?

In your experience, why does God seem "silent" or "inactive" in your life? Do you often cry out for Him? How does the cross and resurrection of Jesus ultimately answer the Psalmist? Do you believe that you were once an enemy of God? Why or why not? Do you believe that you are His "treasured one"? Why or why not?

Discussion Questions: If God is sovereign over all of those in positions of power, how does that impact the way we think about the leaders in our day? (John 19:11; Daniel 2:21) How is justice (or a lack thereof) interconnected with fatherlessness? How is the Church to respond? If the earth was shaken, what would grieve your heart? How can we intentionally fight against loving the things of this wo...

Discussion Questions: What is the gospel? What is your favorite portrayal of the gospel in scripture? What is the "obedience of faith"? How does it play out in your life? (Romans 1:5; 14:23; 16:26) What is real, biblical freedom? Do you have it? How would you know? (Galatians 5:1)

You welcomed me into the roar of the waterfalls and out where the waves could crush me. The One who walks on waves has taken us far fromBethlehem and away from the safety of our sheep into deep waters. In the sea and through the great waters we learn how to cray aloud to God AND how to meet Him there.

Do we know God? His people are supposed to know Him. Perhaps the difficulty we have reading and studying a text with little to know personal application points to the great barrier of a heart that knows God.

This Psalm alludes to the fact that there is a connection between gratitude and the nearness of God. The Psalmist presents 5 eternal realities of God for which we should be ultimately grateful. The barrier can be, however, that we sometimes place ourselves in the position of “god” and see ourselves as fulfilling these things. Therefore, we realize that if one of the keys to nearness with God is gr...

Faith sounds like making our ultimate appeal to God. In this Psalm Asaph leads the congregation in a liturgy of returning to the Lord and hoping once again in His faithful promises.